Dublin lights up early in bid to spark city centre shopping

LORD MAYOR of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne will switch on the capital’s Christmas lights almost three weeks early next Sunday in an attempt to encourage shopping in the city centre.

The official lighting-up ceremony in O’Connell Street on November 9th was a call to “civic patriotism” to shoppers to spend their Christmas money in Dublin, Ms Byrne said.

Retailers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, businesses and the city council have spent more than €1 million on new Christmas lights for the city.

The traditional Christmas tree in O’Connell Street will this year be replaced by a “tree” made entirely of lights. This 18m (60ft), five-tonne tree will use almost 100,000 energy-efficient bulbs in varying sizes. It has been designed by French firm Blachere who created the lighting for the Eiffel Tower.

The tree will arrive in Dublin Port today. Its construction on the central median of O’Connell Street will begin at 1am tomorrow and is expected to take three days to complete. “The lighting ceremony marks the beginning of Christmas. I want to give people every reason to come into the city to do their shopping and these spectacular lights will do this,” Ms Byrne said. More people were going to New York to shop, she said, but she would encourage people to do at least some of their Christmas shopping in the city centre.

“I would be concerned that if we don’t promote Dublin shopping the likes of Grafton Street will diminish. I would encourage people to show civic patriotism and make a special effort to do some focused shopping in the city,” she said.

Richard Guiney, chief executive of the Dublin City Business Improvement District, the joint city council and business group which is behind the new lights and tree, said this year’s lights display will be the most spectacular yet.

Ms Byrne will switch on the new tree at the official lighting ceremony at the central median of O’Connell Street opposite the GPO at 5pm next Sunday. Last year’s lighting ceremony was preformed by the then lord mayor Paddy Bourke on November 25th.

The new low-energy lights will also be lit on Henry Street/Mary Street, South Anne Street, St Andrew Street, Trinity Street, North Earl Street and South Great George’s Street. Similar lights erected in Grafton Street and Wicklow Street for the first time last year will be lit again this year.